When resilience is not enough: Imagining novel approaches to supporting Black youth navigating racism

Abstract

The narrative surrounding the impact racism has had on the well-being of Black youth has shifted across sociocultural and historical context. Early discourse around these topics were problem-saturated, focusing on deficits “within” Black youth. Over time, an important narrative shift occurred: greater attention was paid to the inherent assets of Black youth, their families, and communities, including how racial-ethnic protective factors such as racial socialization afforded them resilience. What resulted was decades of research seeking to understand the mechanisms that allow Black youth to bounce back in spite of racism-related adversity. Notwithstanding the viable practice and policy implications that have emerged from such inquiry, at what point does our focus on the resilience of Black youth – whether individual or multisystemic – fall short? It is with this question in mind that this paper challenges those committed to the optimal development of Black youth to consider yet another narrative shift: one that stands upon the legacy of cultural ecological frameworks and the seminal models underlying resilience research, and calls us toward not supporting Black youth’s adaptation to racism, but toward collective efforts to transform our approach, pushing back against the perniciousness of racism.

Emergence and evolution of developmental resilience science over half a century

“…Research on the neurobiology of resilience blossomed when the tools for reliable assessments of processes within the human body became more feasible, including assessments of stress biology, gene methylation, immune function, and brain function (Feder et al, 2019;Feldman, 2021;Gunnar, 2020;Masten & Cicchetti, 2016;McEwen, 2020;McLaughlin et al, 2020;Shonkoff et al, 2021). Research focused on sociocultural processes, acculturation, discrimination, social justice, and historical trauma gained more attention (e.g., Jones et al, 2023;Marks et al, 2020;Murry et al, 2023;Panter-Brick, 2023;Spencer, 2023;Motti-Stefanidi, 2023;Suárez-Orozco et al, 2018;Wilbur & Gone, 2023). Multisystem measures of protective factors became prominent, such as the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (Ungar & Liebenberg, 2011) and indices of positive (rather than adverse) childhood experiences, such as the Benevolent Childhood Experiences scale (Narayan et al, 2023).…”

The next generation of developmental psychopathology research: Including broader perspectives and becoming more precise

“…Research on exosystem and macrosystem factors must then be incorporated into multilevel prevention and intervention efforts, Developmental psychopathologists often aim to translate research into individual-or family-level programs; however, not all conditions can be addressed, or should be addressed, with individual-or family-level treatment approaches (e.g., Alvarez et al, 2022;Jones et al, 2023). When we have evidence that factors from broader ecological levels are contributing to psychopathology, we must not only create programs that help individuals and their families cope with those factors; we must also advocate for structural and policy-level changes.…”

“…When we have evidence that factors from broader ecological levels are contributing to psychopathology, we must not only create programs that help individuals and their families cope with those factors; we must also advocate for structural and policy-level changes. For example, with regard to structural racism as a macro-level risk factor, Jones et al (2023) consider how current conceptualizations of resilience among Black youth fall short. In particular, Jones et al, urge the field to not be complacent in helping Black youth successfully cope with racism, but move "toward collective efforts to transform our approach, pushing back against the perniciousness of racism" (Jones et al, 2023, p.1).…”

What attachment scholars can learn from research on Black family resilience

“…Beyond the cultural strengths highlighted here, attachment researchers can consider the role of other resilience factors in Black families, such as optimism, community socialization, verve, future orientation, and diverse forms of kinship support (forms of ordinary magic; Murry et al, 2018). Finally, attachment researchers should consider the question of when resilience is not enough (Jones et al, 2023) and recognize resistance to, and transformation of, systemic racism as "not only what is needed, but is what is due Black babies, children, and adolescents" (Jones et al, 2023, p. 6).…”